SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM – ERRORS AND PROBLEMS 4: NOW IT IS THE DEFENDANTS THAT HAVE MADE MISTAKES: AN IMPROPERLY SERVED CLAIM FORM IS NOT A NULLITY
We are continuing with the judgment in Occupiers of Samuel Garside House v Bellway Homes Ltd & Anor [2024] EWHC 1579 (KB). The claimants had made manifest errors in relation to service. However it transpires that the defendants had also made…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM – ERRORS AND PROBLEMS 3: AN ATTEMPT TO OBTAIN “RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS” IS FUTILE
This is the third time (and not the last time) we are looking at the judgment of Occupiers of Samuel Garside House v Bellway Homes Ltd & Anor [2024] EWHC 1579 (KB). The claimants attempted to obtain “relief from sanctions” in…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM ERRORS AND PROBLEMS 2: HAVE YOU AGREED AN EXTENSION OF TIME? NO YOU HAVEN’T
We are returning to the judgment of Master Dagnall in Occupiers of Samuel Garside House v Bellway Homes Ltd & Anor [2024] EWHC 1579 (KB). The claimants argued that correspondence that discussed altering the timetable amounted to a written agreement…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: ERRORS AND PROBLEMS 1: LEAVING SERVICE UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE AND THEN NOT SERVING PROPERLY (BY FAX OR DX)
The judgment of Master Dagnall in Occupiers of Samuel Garside House v Bellway Homes Ltd & Anor [2024] EWHC 1579 (KB) has so many important points in relation to service of the claim form I am looking at the case…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM ISSUES ONE: WHEN CAN YOU (AND WHEN MUST YOU) SERVE ON A NOMINATED SOLICITOR?
There has not been a case on (mis)service of the claim form on this blog for 14 days now. It may be an appropriate time to go back to one of the problem areas – service on a solicitor. There…
A CLAIM FORM WAS NEVER SERVED PROPERLY AND THE ACTION WAS STRUCK OUT: A TRULY EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF FAILED SERVICE ON A FOREIGN DEFENDANT
I am grateful to barrister Feliks Kwiatkowski for sending me a copy of the judgment today of District Judge Lumb in Perisi -v- Secret Surgery Ltd & Dr Ahmed Eslaftawy, a copy of that judgment is available here Perisi v…
WHEN IS IT SENSIBLE TO APPLY TO EXTEND TIME FOR SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM? NEVER – JUST NEVER: A CASE TO POINT
Yesterday, in a lecture I was giving about issues relating to service of the claim form, I was asked to address the issue of “when is it sensible to apply for an extension of time for service of the claim…
PROCEDURE, DAMAGES, LIABILITY, COSTS AND LIMITATION: A SERIES OF WEBINARS THIS YEAR AIMING TO HELP AVOID OR DEAL WITH PROBLEMS IN LITIGATION
The issues arising from many of the cases looked at on this blog are being considered in a series of webinars starting later this month. The webinars cover many of the problem areas of litigation: what to do when things…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: GOOD NEWS FOR THE CLAIMANT (FOR A CHANGE)
NB – THIS DECISION WAS OVERTURNED ON APPEAL – SEE Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities v Rogers [2024] EWCA Civ 1554 In Rogers v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities & Anor [2023]…
DISPUTING SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: DEFENDANT FAILED TO USE CORRECT RULE, BUT CPR 3.10 APPLIED
A defendant that wants to dispute jurisdiction should normally apply under CPR Part 11. In The Tintometer Ltd & Anor v Pitmans (a firm) & Anor [2024] EWHC 370 (Ch) Mrs Justice Bacon considered the situation where a defendant had…
DENTON WATCH: CLAIMANT REFUSED RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS WHEN THE CLAIM FORM WAS NOT SERVED DUE TO SOLICITOR’S MISTAKEN BELIEF THAT IT WOULD BE SERVED BY THE COURT
In Phipps v Goulbourne (Re the Estate of Tetla Yvonne Goulboure otherwise Tetla Yvonne Butler) [2024] EWHC 130 (Ch) Master Teverson refused the claimant’s application for relief from sanctions. The claimant failed to serve a claim form, in accordance with…
THIRD CLAIM FORM CASE OF THE YEAR: FAILURE TO SERVE A SEALED CLAIM FORM, SERVING BY EMAIL WITHOUT THE DEFENDANTS’ CONSENT: IT ENDS UP BADLY FOR THE CLAIMANT
I am grateful to barrister Alicia Tew for sending me a copy of the judgment of HHJ Karen Walden-Smith in Harper -v- Bamber & Lewis (Cambridge County Court – copy of which is available here judgment in Bamber v Harper ). …
FIRST CLAIM FORM CASE OF 2024: CLAIMANT COMES TO GRIEF WHEN THE DEFENDANT WAS SERVED BY THE WRONG METHOD: NO RELIEF AVAILABLE
It took until the 4th January for the first case in relation to service of the claim form to come to light. In Chehaib v King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust & Ors [2024] EWHC 2 (KB) Master Stevens dismissed…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: TWELVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW TO AVOID “DICING WITH PROCEDURAL DEATH”
This is a periodic post (every 3 – 4 years or so) about issues relating to service of the claim form. It will be surprising if there are not cases (and subsequent blog posts) about service issues this year. There…
EXTENSIONS OF TIME TO SERVE THE CLAIM FORM SET ASIDE: YOU CANNOT HOLD ON: CARGO CLAIM COMES TO GRIEF
I clearly called time too early when I wrote, in a post on December 5, that we may the considering last claim form post of the year. We have another example of a claimant coming to grief in Doliaa SAS…
THIS MAY (OR MAY NOT) BE THE FINAL CLAIM FORM CASE OF 2023: CLAIMANT MAKES FUNDAMENTAL MISTAKE AS TO SERVICE, DEFENDANTS FAIL TO NOTICE IN TIME: THERE IS MUCH TO LEARN HERE…
There are lessons for both claimants and defendant litigators in the judgment of Master Teverson (sitting in retirement) in Simon Bain Building Services Ltd v Cardone & Anor [2023] EWHC 2916 (Ch). Firstly we see another error by the claimant…
CLAIM FORM SENT TO DEFENDANT’S OLD REGISTERED OFFICE NOT PROPERLY SERVED: CLAIMANT WAS NOT INSULATED AGAINST THE MISTAKES OF THEIR SOLICITORS
The judgment of District Judge Dawson in Jagger (& others) -v- Axa Insurance PLC, has enough material to keep this blog going for a month. (The judgment is available on a link from the Law Society Gazette here). I am…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM CASES: THE PAST 14 MONTHS: ANOTHER SEASON OF THE DREARY & UNLOVELY CROP OF PROCEDURAL SERVICE ISSUES: WEBINAR 5th FEBRUARY 2024
This year has seen a bumper number of reported cases on what Master McCloud has referred to as a “dry and unlovely crop of procedural service issues”. This webinar on the 5th February looks at the cases relating to the…
CLAIM FORM SERVED LATE: NO EXTENSION OF TIME GIVEN: PLANNING TO FAIL
In Telford And Wrekin Council v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities & Anor [2023] EWHC 2439 (Admin) Mr Justice Eyre held that a claim form had been served late. Further the claimant did not come within…
SERVICE OF PROCEEDINGS: SECTION 1140 OF THE COMPANIES ACT CAN BE USED TO SERVE A DIRECTOR RESIDENT ABROAD
In Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC v Shetty & Ors [2020] EWHC 3423 (Comm) [a case newly arrived on BAILII) Mr Justice Bryan held that s.1140 of the Companies Act 2006 can be used to serve proceedings on a director,…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: AMBIGUITY IN DEFENDANT’S INSTRUCTIONS LED TO A (VERY RARE) CASE OF A CLAIMANT SUCCEEDING ON CPR 6.15
In London Fluid System Technologies Ltd & Ors, R (On the Application Of) v HM Revenue and Customs [2023] EWHC 2206 (Admin) Mrs Justice Foster made an order under CPR 6.15 when the claimants had mistakenly served the defendant at…
CLAIMANT FAILS TO SERVE THE CLAIM FORM PROPERLY: DEFENDANT FAILS TO NOTICE AND APPLIES TO STRIKE OUT ACTION: APPLICATION WAS UNNECCESARY & DEFENDANT NOT AWARDED COSTS
In Johnson v Devon And Cornwall Police & Ors [2023] EWHC 690 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews (sitting as a High Court Judge) held that a defendant should have known that the proceedings against it had not been served properly. The…
ANOTHER CLAIM FORM ISSUE: NO SEAL NO CASE: “SERVICE MEANS HAVING A SEALED CLAIM FORM IN HAND WHICH CAN BE PROVIDED TO THE DEFENDANT”
In Clewer v Higgs & Sons (a firm) [2023] EWHC 1556 (Ch) Mr Justice Adam Johnson upheld a decision that the claimants had failed to serve a claim form properly. The judge held that the requirement to serve a sealed…
COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS DECISION NOT TO GRANT RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: PROBLEMS WITH ISSUE, SERVICE AND NOTICE OF APPLICATIONS: ALL LITIGATION LIFE IS HERE…
In Elo Trustees Ltd v Bonhams 1793 Ltd & Anor [2023] EWCA Civ 664 the Court of Appeal upheld a decision not to give relief from sanctions. The case is illustrative of a large number of the dangers of litigation….
CLAIMANTS COME TO GRIEF OVER SERVICE OF UNSEALED CLAIM FORM: COURT OF APPEAL HOLD THAT CPR 3.10 APPLIES TO DEFENDANT’S MISCARACTERISED APPLICATION
It is rarely possible to get to the end of a month without some kind of discussion on this blog about service of the claim form. This month is no exception. In Pitalia & Anor v NHS England [2023] EWCA…
“IT WAS TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY”: A BATCH OF SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM CASES IN THE COURT OF APPEAL: A CHANCE TO REVIEW (OR REMINISCE..)
The Court of Appeal judgment in Cranfield & Anor v Bridgegrove Ltd. [2003] EWCA Civ 656 was given 20 years ago today. One of the aims of that judgment was to clarify issues relating to service of the claim form…
ANOTHER CLAIM FORM CASE TO BRIGHTEN UP YOUR DAY: SERVICE AT THE LAST KNOWN ADDRESS: CLAIMANT SUCCESSFUL IN HIS ARGUMENTS ABOUT KNOWLEDGE
There are a number of issues relating to service of the claim form in the judgment of Peter MacDonald Eggers KC (sitting as a High Court Judge) in Boettcher v (Xio (UK) LLP & Ors [2023] EWHC 801 (Comm). Here…
FAILURE TO SERVE A DEFENDANT PROPERLY AND ISSUING OUT OF TIME: HIGH COURT DECISION
In Muhammad v Daily The News International & Ors (Rev1) [2023] EWHC 674 (KB) Master Cook determined a number of procedural issues. Here we look at two: (1) the failure to serve on a defendant properly; (2) the question of…
ISSUING IN HASTE BEFORE APRIL 6th: DO NOT REPENT AT LEISURE WITH SERVICE ISSUES IN FOUR MONTHS’ TIME
I have been told that there has been a flurry of activity this week with claimants anxious to issue proceedings before the change in the rules relating to QOCS. One problem with this is that there will now be numerous…
AGREEING EXTENSIONS OF TIME FOR SERVICE: THE ESSENTIAL POINT THAT THEY MUST BE IN WRITING
An interesting issue about “agreements” is referred to in the judgment of Mr Justice Kerr in Clarion Housing Association Ltd v Crest Nicholson Operations Ltd [2023] EWHC 620 (TCC). I will be looking at the case in more detail later. …
SERVICE ON A SOLICITOR WAS NOT DEFECTIVE: WHAT IS MEANT BY A “PLACE OF BUSINESS”?
In Ellison Road Ltd v Mian (t/a HKH Kenwright & Cox Solicitors) & Anor [2023] EWHC 375 (Ch) Master Brightwell rejected a defendant’s argument that he had not been properly served at his “place of business”. The case shows the…
THE CLAIMANT HAD SIX WEEKS TO ISSUE AND SERVE THE CLAIM FORM AND WAS ONE DAY LATE: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED
In Halton Borough Council v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing And Communities [2023] EWHC 293 (Admin) HHJ Stephen Davies (sitting as a High Court Judge) refused a claimant’s application for relief from sanctions. This was a case where…
COURT REFUSES CLAIMANT’S APPLICATION FOR RETROSPECTIVE EXTENSION OF TIME TO SERVE THE CLAIM FORM:CLAIMANT’S ARGUMENTS THAT CPR 3.9 APPLIED FAILED TO FLY
Regular readers may be concerned that we have got through to the second week of February of the year and we have not yet had a claims form case. (There are several in the pipeline.) I am grateful to barrister…
IT IS THE CLAIMANTS’ JOB TO SERVE THE CLAIM FORM ON TIME: HIGH COURT REJECTS ARGUMENT THAT DEFENDANTS WERE ESTOPPED FROM TAKING THE POINT: CLAIMANTS’ OTHER ARGUMENT COME TO GRIEF
We are always seeing new ways in which mistakes are made in relation to service of the claim form. In Lonsdale & Ors v Wedlake Bell Llp & Ors [2022] EWHC 2169 (QB)the claimants agreed an extension of time to…
PROVING THINGS 235: PROVING SERVICE: COUNCIL’S WHOLESALE FAILURE TO SERVE CLAIM FORMS PROPERLY: ATTEMPTS AT PERSONAL SERVICE WERE A PREREQUISITE TO SERVICE BY ALTERNATIVE MEANS
An important point as to service of the claim form arose in the judgment of Mr Justice Nicklin in Thurrock Council v Stokes & Ors [2022] EWHC 1998 (QB). The claimant had issued proceedings against multiple defendants. It obtained an…
THE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PROSPECTIVE AND RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATION TO SERVE A CLAIM FORM: “CLEAR WATER” BETWEEN THE TWO TESTS: COURT OF APPEAL OVERTURNS ORDER SETTING ASIDE A PROSPECTIVE APPLICATION FOR SERVICE
In ST v BAI (SA) Trading As Brittany Ferries [2022] EWCA Civ 1037 the Court of Appeal overturned a decision, itself made on appeal, where a prospective application to extend time for service of the claim form was set aside….
ANOTHER CLAIM FORM CASE: ANOTHER CLAIMANT COMES TO GRIEF OVER SERVICE OF AN UNSEALED CLAIM FORM: DEFENDANT,HOWEVER, SAVED BY CPR 3.10.
In Pitalia & Anor v NHS Commissioning Board [2022] EWHC 1636_2 (QB) His Honour Judge Pearce dismissed a claimant’s appeal in a case where the claim form had not been validly served. The defendant had made an error in that…
SERVICE BY EMAIL WAS NOT GOOD SERVICE: A CLAIMANT NEEDS A SPECIFIC STATEMENT THAT SERVICE WILL BE ACCEPTED: APPLICATION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME REFUSED
In Karanja, R (On the Application Of) v University of the West of Scotland [2022] EWHC 1520 (Admin) Michael Ford QC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, found that a claim form had not been served when it was…
ANOTHER FAILED SERVICE CASE: AGREEMENT TO ACCEPT SERVICE BY EMAIL DID NOT EXTEND TO DOCUMENTS ALREADY SENT
We have another case falling foul of the provisions in relation to service. In Allen v Mittal [2022] EWHC 762 (Ch) Deputy Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Agnello QC rejected an applicant’s arguments that an application had been served properly. …
COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS DECISION SETTING ASIDE AN EXTENSION OF TIME FOR SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: CASE ON HEAD OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT GOES BUST
In Qatar Investment and Project Development Holding Company & Anor v Phoenix Ancient Art SA (Rev1) [2022] EWCA Civ 422 the Court of Appeal upheld a decision setting aside an order granting an extension of time for service of the…
WHEN DEFENDANTS MAKE AN APPLICATION IN RELATION TO SERVICE: WHAT METHOD MUST THEY USE? IS PART 11 MANDATORY?
We are taking a second look at the judgment of Lord Justice Nugee in Hand Held Products, Inc & Anor v Zebra Technologies Europe Ltd & Anor [2022] EWHC 640 (Ch). This time in relation to that part of the…
SERVING THE CLAIM FORM PROPERLY – THE DIRE PROBLEMS IF YOU DON’T, AND THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM GOOD LAW: WEBINAR 11th APRIL 2022
The decision of the Court of Appeal today in The Good Law Project, R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for Health And Social Care [2022] EWCA Civ 35 emphasises the need for all litigators to know,…
COURT OF APPEAL DISMISSES APPEAL WHEN CLAIM FORM SERVED ONE DAY LATE: “RELIANCE ON NON-COMPLIANT SERVICE IS NOT ONE OF THE INSTANCES OF OPPORTUNISM DEPRECATED BY THE COURTS”
In The Good Law Project, R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for Health And Social Care [2022] EWCA Civ 35 the Court of Appeal dismissed the claimant’s appeal against a a decision not granting any relief…
CLAIMANT FAILS TO SERVE CLAIM FORM PROPERLY: NOT A PLACE WHERE THIS DEFENDANT CARRIED OUT BUSINESS: SERVING THE RIGHT ZEBRA AND THE RIGHT ADDRESS
Master McCloud once wrote that it was the months of April and May that led to a seasonal crop of claim form issues in the Masters’ corridor. However, as regular readers this blog will know the season is a very…
COURT REFUSES TO SET ASIDE JUDGMENT IN RELATION TO SOLICITOR’S COSTS: SERVICE AT AN ADDRESS IN THE REGISTER IS THE PRICE OF BEING A DIRECTOR
In Farrer & Co LLP v Meyer [2022] EWHC 362 (QB) Mr Justice Kerr refused to set aside a long-standing judgment on a bill for solicitor’s costs. The judgment also considered the importance of s.1140 of the Companies Act 2006….
CLAIM FAILS WHEN CLAIMANT SERVES A FIRM OF SOLICITORS AT THE WRONG ADDRESS: COURT REFUSES TO EXTEND CLAIM FORM
In Kelly v Ralli Ltd [2022] EWHC B5 (Costs) Cost Judge Rowley found that a claimant had failed to serve a claim form at the correct address. The action therefore failed. “The rules governing service are clear that it is the…
SERVICE WITHOUT A SMILE: CLAIMANTS COME TO GRIEF IN THE COURT OF APPEAL: SENDING AN UNSEALED CLAIM FORM IS NOT GOOD SERVICE, THE CLAIMANTS COULD NOT RELY ON CPR 3.10
The first (but probably not the last) case on service of the claim form arrives in January, with the Court of Appeal decision in Ideal Shopping Direct Ltd & Ors v Mastercard Incorporated & Ors [2022] EWCA Civ 14. It…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: WHEN THE DEFENDANT NEEDS AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO TAKE POINTS AS TO SERVICE: PROBLEMS BORN IN THE US OF A.
In Joe Macari Servicing Ltd v Chequered Flag International Inc [2021] EWHC 3175 (QB) Master Dagnall considered a case where the defendant required an extension of time in order to take points in relation to service of proceedings. The Master…
ARE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM PROPERLY SERVED IF SENT (AT THE 12th HOUR) IN THE POST WITH THE CLAIM FORM? CIRCUIT JUDGE DECISION ON APPEAL
I am grateful to barrister Christopher Johnson for sending me a copy of the judgment of HHJ Ralton in the case of Ellis -v- The Chief Constable of Avon & Somerset Constabulary (HHJ Ralton, 16th November 2021). The judge was…
IF YOU ARE APPLYING FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS “OWN YOUR MISTAKES”: YOU HAVE TO SERVE THE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM WITHIN FOUR MONTHS: CLAIMANT IN ERROR, BUT RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED
The judgment in Holterman v Electrium Sales Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 3915 (TCC) shows a “classic” error in relation to service of proceedings. The claimant served the claim form at the end of the relevant period, and the particulars…
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